


Be off!

by Elinie



Category: Highlander: The Series
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-25
Updated: 2015-05-25
Packaged: 2018-04-01 05:45:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4008088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elinie/pseuds/Elinie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>English is not my mother tongue so feel free to correct my mistakes</p>
    </blockquote>





	Be off!

**Author's Note:**

> English is not my mother tongue so feel free to correct my mistakes

The first and only memory of Amanda’s childhood was street. The street full of smells of rusty fish and dirty human bodies, full of children crying and rooster songs, full of horses’ neigh and swearing of city guards. It was the street full of cold and loneliness despite its eternal companion – crowd.

Amanda was a daughter of street, grown up close to unceasing choir of human voices percolating even into her dreams. Amanda has been growing up and has been dreaming to become the one of street people. Sometimes she began to think whether she ever had a family, where your parents were now, whether she ever had someone who could love her? She knew the meaning of her name: “The one who was worthy of love”, but had she ever been worthy of it?

Amanda used to dream that she once had a family, kind and general parents but she was stolen by gypsies and her parents would find her one day…. Time passed and none ever came to find her.

Time flew, Amanda learnt how to steal and began pilfering apples and bread, got caught and tied up to pillory. An old gypsy woman found her once and brought her to the Gipsy band, Amanda spent a couple of years there. The gypsy woman was proud of Amanda’s thievish talents and hoped that she would be a wife of Gypsy baron son one day. Amanda shivered at these thoughts and began thinking how to run away from Gypsy band.

She felt useless and lonely; it seemed to her that tales of Gypsy woman were true: destiny simply forgot about Amanda’s existence and threw her away. Gypsies roamed from one town to another, from Provence to Madrid, from south to north. Jean, the son of baron, once showed Amanda one book he might stole somewhere, he carried it everywhere and secretly told her that he was dreaming to learn how to read one day. Amanda envied him for his dreams, envied rich ladies and their luxury dresses, envied ancient cathedrals. She wanted to learn also but she completely had no idea of what to expect from her own future….

At midnight she left the Gypsy camp, clutching a bag of apples and a little cross stolen from Baron's. Amanda believed in all the gods at once, the cross had a golden ornament; maybe it would help her to ask to stay for the night in the church? Sorry, Jean, you were a nice guy, but I have nothing to do here! Amanda walked through the woods, wiping tears stealthily and shouts raced after her: "Away, go away from here, you little devil!" I'm sorry, my old gypsy mom...

It was cold, poor and scared in Le Havre, as it had always been in this inhospitable place, Amanda used to call her home. On the square overflowed with rainbow lights there was a Fair, and she was standing outside the gate, fingered her ragged knapsack, and mourned over her smeared with mud apples and observed with hungry eyes the merry action. "Get out! Get out of here, beggar! ". A beautiful white horse flashed past her, almost knocking Amanda down. Horsewoman dispersed excessively zealous beggars with false legs with peremptory shout, and Amanda, hurried out of the way as well to avoid receiving a punch into the face. Horsewoman knew her own worth, came from a noble family, wore beautiful earrings, knew how to cope with a sword and certainly knew how to read. Amanda sighed, watching her enviously. In vain she ran away from the camp, she had nothing to do here.

Dirty road powdered with the first snow, brought her to the trades woman observing the trade fair action too enthusiastically. Amanda looked around furtively and pulled the nearest pie close.  
  "Thief, hold her! Catch her! ". She was immediately beaten with a stick in the head, her feet slipping on frozen slops and cathedral bells alerted Vespers. Was she really worthy of love? Of someone, just anyone ....

And then she woke up in a warm bed, in a room that smelled of fresh baked bread. At the window there stood that same rider. "My name is Rebecca; it's time to tell you about your essence."And the new days of completely different life had begun.Days full of battles with swords, full of reading sacred books, refined manners, jokes and strict instructions of Rebecca. Her mentor embodied the way more than just a teacher or a friend, she had definitely made of Amanda that woman who she was now and revealed to her that side of life, which had always been closed.

And, Rebecca gave her a place that it was safe to call home, taught her how to pray. All those few years near the present abbey of Mont Saint-Michel became the brightest spot in her life always seemed to be filled with eternal night. And then Rebecca once handed her a sword and a small crystal on a silver chain, and said, "Go with God, Amanda, I have nothing to teach you." Amanda did not want to think that Rebecca also drove her away, but as always the time to say good bye has come, and some inner voice, taken over from the Gypsies, told her that she never return to those Holy Lands anymore.

"Thief! Swindler! Catch her! Hang her! ". Amanda sighed, replaced her knapsacks and wondered how the hell she managed to come out unscathed once again. Of course, Rebecca tried to instil in her the basics of ethics and morality, but Rebecca was fortunate to have in her life at least parents, and the only wealth Amanda had was her agility and immortality. She gave up counting the doors slamming in front of her nose; she got tired of licking her wounds and scratches though always healing themselves, and tangled in paths, displaying her to new adventures. "Worthy of love" lived without purpose and direction, and her ever-hungry and the entire broken inner child run for gold and shiny stones, because most of all she was afraid to become a daughter of the street once again.

Men came and went away, without stopping for a long time in her life, the wine was replaced with milk, and a luxury hotel room replaced with a small house in the village. Sometimes she longed for Normandy; at times she envied Roma, who taught her what freedom is. Amanda had everything in her life except love and friends. She wasn’t trusted, people were afraid of her, despised her, because who knows what crazy idea might come into her no less crazy head? And Rebecca was killed a few years ago, and the last link with home, which she has never had, was broken.

Amanda was plucking a chain with shiny crystal and wiped her tears. She didn’t know how to give up, but now she has the longing to learn. She was tired of the closed doors, and from what she has become.

The barge was rocking on the waves, the bells of Notre Dame were whispering about the eternal, and Amanda was so afraid of another: "Get out!" that might come into her life. Brain was sarcastically whistling about all the troubles in which Duncan repeatedly got involved with the help of her fault. It was useless to mumble another: "I didn’t mean anything harm." Amanda has not trusted herself, convinced that her loveless heart just used people on its own. She sobbed hysterically, no, that’s not true! Not with Duncan, not with him.... He seemed to always seeing what was hiding under the guise of her fraud, he saw, understood and accepted, but why, why did not he ever ask her to stay?

  

Duncan was surreptitiously glancing out of the window, although the immortal buzz was coming from all the cracks. Amanda.... Of course, who else could it be? His asceticism soon will be honoured by the charm of her luxury. Amanda had quite uncanny ability for compassion, but Duncan knew exactly that she was going to appear in his life again. Most recently, he buried Tessa, got drank, smoked two packs of cigarettes, though he did not smoke al all, and realized the missing part of his life. Amanda's eccentricities, her lacy stockings, scattered throughout the house, her knowing look. She would not say a word, just took his hand, or would watch him drowning his sorrow in a cup of coffee, and then she’d come up and sit beside him. And it will be easier. The child of the streets and the son of the chieftain… He remembered the words, he’d once said in response to another outbreak of jealousy from Tessa: "Amanda made me laugh when I did not want to even smile. That’s why I'll help her no matter what! ".

They were more than just friends, more than lovers for a couple of nights once in a few centuries, Duncan marvelled that suddenly opened truth and went to the door.  
  - Amanda, come in, dear.

End.


End file.
